The BCCI has called an emergent meeting of its Apex Council on Friday to appoint former chief election commissioner Achal Kumar Jyoti as the electoral officer to conduct the polls for the positions of secretary and treasurer. The two posts were recently vacated by Jay Shah (secretary) and Ashish Shelar (treasurer). While Shah took charge as ICC chairman on December 1, Shelar took oath as a cabinet minister in the new Maharashtra government. From the time an elected office-bearer resigns, the board has 45 days to call for a Special General Meeting and choose his successor.
The BCCI also needs to appoint an electoral officer at least four weeks prior to the election, as per the constitution.
"As the posts of Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer have been vacated, the same are required to be filled up for the remaining period at a Special General Meeting by way of elections," reads an official Board document which is in PTI's possession.
"In this regard, the Apex Council is requested to approve the appointment of Mr. Achal Kumar Jyoti, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, as the Electoral Officer to conduct BCCI elections at a Special General Meeting," it added.
The 71-year-old Jyoti, who is a retired 1975 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, served as India's chief election commissioner from July 2017 to January 2018. Currently, Assam's Devajit Saikia is performing the duties of Board's interim secretary, while the treasurer's position is lying vacant.
Board's bank balance soars
BCCI's healthy bank balance got healthier this year with an approximate increase of Rs 4200 crore, taking the overall earnings to a whopping Rs 20,686 crore.
A major chunk of BCCI's revenue comes from the IPL media rights and bilateral cricket rights.
With India being the biggest cricket market in the world, the powerful board also gets a lion's share of revenue generated by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Back in June 2022, the IPL media rights were sold for an astronomical Rs 48,390 crore for a five-year period.
"The cash and bank balance of BCCI has increased from Rs 16,493 crores in FY2023 to INR 20,686 crores in FY 2024. This is an increase of approximately INR 4,200 crore," read a BCCI document in possession of PTI.
The board was projected to earn Rs 7,476 crore in FY23-24 but the actual income stands at Rs 8,995 crore. The general fund also increased from Rs 6,365 crore to 7,988 crore.
In the FY24-25, the BCCI is expected to earn Rs 10,054 crore with the total budgeted expenditure set at Rs 2,348 crore.
BCCI's 38 state units rely heavily on the board's annual grants and as per the document, the budgeted amounts due to the associations stand at Rs 499 crore.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)